Legends of the Diamond (NES) Playthrough
108A playthrough of Bandai's 1992 baseball game for the NES, Legends of the Diamond.
Legends of the Diamond was one of the many NES baseball games created by Tose, the development studio behind such titles as Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball and the Bases Loaded series.
Baseball games were a dime a dozen on the NES. The system's library was thoroughly saturated by an endless parade of RBI Baseball clones, but the US-exclusive Legends of the Diamond was one of the few that managed to stand out.
Instead of recreating a season in the modern-day MLB, Legends casts a look back at the sport's heroes of yesteryear. You pick your line-up from a long list of old-school superstars that includes names like Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, Cy Young, and Roberto Clemente, and you can pit your dream team against the AI or a buddy in an exhibition game, or you can lead them through a season.
The game plays is similar to any other baseball game's, but it controls well and it has a couple of nifty, unique features. Wind is a determining factor in how far you can hit the ball, and each player's performance is influenced by his mood, and they all offer a "comment" on how confident they are in their abilities on any given day, as well as the occasional bit of trash talk on the field.
The stylized look of the game is also pretty unique. In menus, the players are all depicted with nicely drawn portraits, and in-game, the simple uniforms and the exaggerated animations provide a welcome bit of old-fashioned charm.
It doesn't veer as far from the traditional baseball game mold as Base Wars or Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 does, but if you're a fan of 8-bit sportd games, Legends of the Diamond is a fun diversion from the usual fare.
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